Demons
by slstmaraudersjple
Summary: She's not quite sure how she's gotten here, but maybe that's not the important part. The important part is that she has arrived. Mirajane-centric. (Eventual) Mirajane x Laxus, Elfman, Lisanna. One-shot.


Summary: She's not quite sure how she's gotten here, but maybe that's not the important part. Mirajane x Laxus, Elfman, Lisanna. One-shot.

A/N: Lyrics in _**bold and italics**_ from Demons by Imagine Dragons. Spoilers for chapters 381 and up from the Tartarus Arc. Laxus might be a little more OOC. I'm keeping his character more mature, because the focus is more on Mirajane and Elfman coping with Lisanna's pseudo-death (although they don't know it yet). So for the sake of this story, we're going to pretend the whole Raijinshu-vs-FT/Festival Arc never happened. He's loyal to FT and he's confident in his own person. (And quite honestly, the other Laxus was just _bratty_.) He's a contrast to Mirajane, who puts up a tough exterior to hide her sensitive interior, and that gets blown to hell when Lisanna dies. Mostly Mirajane-centric with a bigger focus on the Strauss siblings. A couple sections from Laxus' POV, eventual Mirajane x Laxus. I guess you could say this is an experimental style. It's definitely a lot darker than any of the other FT fics I've written, so I definitely appreciate your input on this. On a side note, I realize that this one-shot alone is pretty much the equivalent of the entirety of Kindred, but I really couldn't bring myself to break it down into smaller chapters.

**Demons**

_**When the days are cold and the cards all fold and the saints we see are all made of gold**_

**X776**

The beginning years are the best years of her life. It's like a fairy tale – her parents and siblings and her, every day, laughter and smiles and sunshine.

Mira wants to be a mage when she grows up, because her parents are mages, and they're so talented!

She wants to be just like them when she's older, and based off the smiles she sees on her brother and sister's faces when she does little tricks she's learned from her parents (because they're the best!), she thinks they will make a pretty darn cool team.

And even though her parents work often, they always have – make – time for their kids.

Mira loves spending time with her siblings. She's the oldest, at 11. Then there's Elfman, who's 10, and little Lisanna, who just turned 9. The siblings are a year apart, and they're close. They train together, even if there's not much they can do yet.

The happiest days of their lives are short-lived, however, when one day, their parents don't come home from a mission.

Mirajane finds out later that their parents sacrificed themselves to protect the village their children were in, and her fairy tale world comes crashing down.

* * *

_**When your dreams all fail and the saints we hail are the worst of all and the blood's run stale**_

**X777**

The villagers are cruel.

"_Get out of here!"  
_"_Leave this village!"  
_"_You demon-possessed witch!"  
_"_How long do you plan on sticking around in this village?!"  
_"_You cursed family!"  
_"_As long as you're in this village, more disasters just keep happening!"_

Lisanna is curled up next to Mira, huddling close to her sister's hooded figure.

A villager throws rocks, and Mira flinches as one strikes her across the cheek.

"Mira-nee, are you okay?" Lisanna asks, concerned.

"I'm sorry… this s all my fault…" Mira whispers.

"This isn't your fault, sis!" Elfman protests weakly.

"If I would have just stayed away from that church… this would have never happened…" She looks at her right arm, straining to control the transformation.

"_Get out of here, demon!"  
_"_Leave this village!"_

"Get back, Lisanna!" Mira yells, pulling her sister away from the window.

"But you're the one who exorcised the evil demon that was haunting the church, nee-chan! You fought that demon for the sake of this village! This is just too cruel! You only became possessed by that demon because you fought against it. You didn't do anything wrong! This isn't your fault!" Her baby sister cries.

Her responses are automatic. "Forget about it, Lisanna." "Don't cry, Elfman."

* * *

_**I wanna hide the truth, I wanna shelter you, but with the beast inside there's nowhere we can hide**_

**X778**

A couple months later, after someone sets their house on fire, Mirajane makes the decision she should have made months ago. "We can't stay in this village any longer."

They pack up their few meager belongings and start traveling, stopping for breaks before continuing on their way.

They wind up at the Fairy Tail guild.

Inevitably, they are the center of attention. Three children – Mira's 13, Elfman is 12 and Lisanna is 11.

As they pass the guild members, Mirajane automatically mentally takes notes of the children at the guild. There are several, and they should be mage children as well, so they should understand. Maybe Elfman and Lisanna will have be able to make friends for once. As for her… well, she sees a redheaded girl who looks her age and a couple older teenagers.

Makarov, the guild master, takes them in. He takes one look at Mira's right arm and explains, "That is Take Over, one kind of magic. You haven't been possessed by the demon. Rather, the demon's power is now latent in your body."

"The demon's power…" _I never asked for that._

* * *

"I've heard the talk that's been going around, Mirajane. It seems you've become pretty useful around here. How is it? Have you gotten used to the guild yet?" Erza seems nice enough, she supposes.

She ignores the requip mages and gets up and leaves, ignoring the protesting, "Hey!"

Before Erza can follow her and demand answers though, the redhead is stopped by a couple older guild members, watching from behind their glasses of beer. She doesn't look, but she can hear the sneers in their voices as she walks out the door.

"_Leave her alone. She doesn't talk, she doesn't smile or laugh either."  
_"_She just makes that scary face."  
_"_Though her brother and sister have fit right in with the rest of the idiots."_

She walks aimlessly through the streets of Magnolia, occasionally glancing at her disfigured hand before putting it back in her cloak with disgust.

"Magic… demons… I don't want this power. It's disgusting."

"_Get out of here-"  
_"_You demon possessed witch-"  
_"_You cursed family-"_

_I'm no longer a human being…_

She turns back for a moment and looks at the guild.

It's a good guild. Her siblings will be safe in their hands.

_As for me… I'm leaving this town. Goodbye, Elfman, Lisana. I'm sorry._

But before she does though, she hears the telltale pitter-patter footsteps of her brother and sister.

"Mira-nee!"

She stops, startled. When she turns to acknowledging her incoming siblings, she notes that they're beaming at her.

"Look, look!" Lisanna waves happily.

"This'll definitely surprise you!" Elfman adds, grinning.

"Tada!" Her siblings chorus, and there's a popping sound, and-

"Animal Soul Cat!" Lisanna's a cat girl, with paws and ears and a tail.

"Beast Soul Bear!" Elfman's right hand has been replaced with a bear paw and arm.

Her siblings are grinning so widely she thinks their faces are going to get stuck, but she can only stare at them in mute surprise. "Eh?!"

"They taught us! The same magic as you, Mira-nee!" Lisanna explains.

"Though I can only do my hand right now…" Elfman comments bashfully.

She can't help her eyes, they start watering and she's overfilled with emotion.

"You always seem so lonely, Mira-nee…" Lisanna trails off.

"So we figured now you'd have some company." Elfman finishes, crossing his arms in an attempt to be tougher.

"You guys…"

But her siblings aren't done yet. Lisanna comes up to her and hugs one hand. "We'll always be together with you…"

Meanwhile, Elfman takes her other hand. "And now our magic is just like yours too!"

And then Lisanna poofs, and she's a pig – a cute adorable pig but a pig nonetheless – and says "Oink!"

Then she pouts from the loss of control. "I'm still not very good at it!"

Elfman groans at his giraffe hoof. "Wah! Me neither!"

Mira can't stop the laughter bubbling from her lips. It's light, and she doesn't remember the last time she's laughed so freely. "You think you can do guild work with magic like that?"

Elfman smiles at her. "Just like you protected us with that power, this time we'll be the ones to protect you."

* * *

_**No matter what we breed we still are made of greed, this is my kingdom come, this is my kingdom come  
**__**When you feel my heat, look into my eyes, it's where my demons hide, it's where my demons hide  
**__**Don't get too close, it's dark inside, it's where my demons hide, it's where my demons hide**_

Mirajane resolves to train harder. She's going to learn to control these powers.

Makarov is naturally delighted when he learns this.

"Where do you want your guild stamp?"

Mirajane thinks for a second before deciding on her left thigh. Lisanna chooses her left thigh as well, and Elfman decides on the left side of his neck.

"Because it's manly, sis!" He grins proudly.

They are shortly interrupted by loud cheers and yells.

They learn from Makarov that the guild is celebrating because Laxus Dreyar just became the newest S-class mage.

Mirajane's eyes sweep through the crowd and finally come to rest on a blond-haired boy with dark blue eyes and a scar that runs down the right side of his face. It looks fresh, so she assumes he received it during the S-class exam. He's got a boyish charm that she supposes she finds attractive, not that she cares for physical looks in the first place because she's long learned that good looks do not make a good person.

He looks older than her (she later discovers he is 4 years older than her), and his eyes suddenly move and meet hers, and he observes her with a hint of curiosity, but then the corner of his lips turn up into a smirk, and she looks at him coolly, unimpressed.

She turns her attention away and murmurs to her siblings, "Let's go."

He must be strong to make S-class, she muses to herself, but she's going to make S-class as well.

_Then we'll see who's stronger._

* * *

_**At the curtain's call it's the last of all, when the lights fade out all the sinners crawl**_

**X779**

Mirajane and her siblings quickly rise through the ranks at Fairy Tail. After hard months of training, they are able to use their Take Over magic with minor difficulties. They're all strong in their own right, courtesy of their parents. But Mirajane is clearly the strongest.

She occasionally takes solo missions, but she refuses to team up with anyone other than her siblings, and her siblings sometimes go on lower classed missions without her, but they'll wait for her so they can tackle higher ranking missions together. They're the Take Over siblings, after all.

By now, she's long shed her cloak and owns a couple gothic outfits (they match her magic) that make her look intimidating. Not that she actually cares for the title, but if it'll protect her siblings, she'll take it. She sometimes muses to herself how silly she feels, acting all tough and strong (and she's strong, but she's not _tough_ and there's a difference).

She acts convincingly enough, she thinks. She declares Erza to be her rival and they fight quite often, although their fights usually end in draws or they're interrupted by an irritated Laxus or amused Gildarts. She easily makes enemies (maybe not real enemies, but they certainly don't like her like they adore her siblings) of almost everyone in the guild. Most of the kids her age and below are terrified of her and give her wide berth. Honestly though, Mirajane doesn't care. She really doesn't. Because all she cares about is that her brother and sister are happy, and that's enough for her.

But for some reason, she has a feeling that she can't fool one Laxus Dreyar. They don't really talk too much. She's 14, he's 18. She only hangs out with her siblings or by herself (unless she's picking a fight with Erza), and he's always with his stupid Raijinshu or off on missions or whatever.

They occasionally work together, like when Makarov assigned the strongest mages for some mission classed somewhere between A-class and S-class that required a team and specifically called for Laxus, Erza, and Mirajane. (That was fun. She never thought riling up the lightning dragon slayer would be so amusing. Unfortunately, the guy had this thing where he could zap them with a point of his finger. Spoil sport.)

But for the most part, Mirajane and Laxus stay away from each other.

So she's suspicious when he gives her this _look_ whenever their eyes happen to meet while she's picking a fight with Erza or beating the boys up (Gray and Natsu are such idiots sometimes) or intimidating people away from her. It's a look that says _"I'm unimpressed, you clearly don't scare me the least bit, kid,"_ and it makes her wonder just what he sees and how he sees her, because clearly she gets the feeling that he doesn't think of her like everyone else does.

Her siblings adore her and she clearly adores them, the rest of the guild generally irritates her, and Erza's her rival. So where the hell does Laxus fall in?

* * *

Laxus isn't quite sure what to think of the three newest guild members. Lisanna seems like a sweet girl and Elfman seems relatively normal, which leaves the question of how Mirajane became the way she is.

It's funny, because since he's the oldest in their generation, a lot of the kids look up to him like a big brother, so he has to set a good example. Naturally, Lisanna and Elfman fall into that category.

Mirajane, on the other hand, is a freaking demon. She's sadistic, although never intentionally cruel.

It seems that the only people who never see her wrath are her siblings. For them, she smiles this strangely soft and genuine smile that no one else in the guild sees.

She's strong though. He knows that because Makarov forbid her from using her Satan Soul: Halphas form due to the amount of destruction it causes – she can level a city with it.

One day she comes back from a solo mission, injured. Mirajane stumbles into the guild, muttering curses, slightly delirious. Her siblings immediately sweep her up and take her to the infirmary so she can be treated.

Later, Laxus hears whispers of rumors, of how a female Fairy Tail mage took on and subdued the demon Sitri.

If the rumors are even a quarter true, then she's not just strong. She's worthy of the rank of S-class.

He later learns that the solo mission jumped from A-class to S-class with the arrival of the demon Sitri, rumored to have conquered 10,000 demons.

But Mirajane's out of commission for a month. When he doesn't her see around the guild like normal after the first week, he stops her siblings and inquires about her whereabouts.

Lisanna looks at him curiously, but the youngest Strauss explains that since the demon was so strong Mira's having trouble controlling it so she's not taking any more missions until she masters her newest Satan Soul form.

He seeks out the Demon Mirajane for himself, and he finds her in a clearing in the middle of the forest.

Upon his approach, her head snaps up and she snarls, one fist pulled back, claws out. Her hair and eyes are wild, but they become less wild and more controlled with each flicker of emotion that passes through them. It's evident that she's been at this for a while now. The trees nearby are destroyed, there are craters in the ground, and he's pretty sure that the pile of uprooted trees at the side of the clearing wasn't there originally.

Finally, she blinks as recognition flashes across her eyes and she drops her fist. Her Satan Soul form dissipates, leaving her in loose but comfortable clothing, unusually different from the clothes he's grown accustomed to seeing her in. She slowly sinks down to the forest floor and lays down, evidently exhausted, and she closes her eyes.

She doesn't acknowledging him, but he knows that she knows he's here. He watches her for a moment before going over to her and gingerly sitting down beside her. They don't say a word to each other the entire time, but there's nothing that needs to be said.

He finds that he's _impressed_.

He wants to see how strong she really is.

* * *

**X780**

Erza and Mirajane quickly make names for themselves as the two strongest female mages in Fairy Tail. (And quite possibly, all of Fiore or even the continent.) Plus, they're rivals.

Naturally, they're both nominated for this year's S-class exams.

When Mirajane's name is called, she blinks before she realizes what's happening and her siblings happily tackle her, shouting encouragement and congratulations, and she smiles softly as she embraces them.

She feels someone's gaze settling on them, and she lifts her head up to meet them coolly.

Laxus smirks. "Let's see how you do, kid."

Holding one sibling in each hand, she raises one eyebrow and flips him off without saying a single word.

She expects him to scowl in irritation, but his grin only widens in amusement, and she doesn't quite understand why her stomach flip-flops.

* * *

She hates her life.

During the first part of the battle, they had to pick a route and prepare for battle.

Naturally she got Laxus.

He doesn't fight her seriously, but rather tests her, slowly adding more and more strength to his attacks until he's on par with her, fighting her at her level.

She doesn't know whether to be impressed or offended.

He smirks. "C'mon, kid. I don't have all day."

"I'm taking you down, old man." She snarls, launching at him in Satan Soul form.

They end in a 'draw' with her just slightly more out of breath than he is, and Laxus lets her pass. As she moves past him though, he reaches out and grabs her shoulder, muttering gruffly, "You'll be fine."

She doesn't know why, but she believes him.

* * *

They're barely conscious, drained of all their magic and nearly all their strength. And considering who their previous opponents were (she had _Laxus_ and Erza got _Gildarts_), it's pretty impressive that they're still standing.

So in the end, after the last explosion and they're lying on the floor on their backs gasping for air and mentally accessing their wounds and injuries, it comes down to a battle of wills.

They both stand up shakily, but Mirajane's twisted ankle can't support her and she tumbles down. She manages to get back up on her hands and knees, but Erza manages to stand up long enough to be bestowed the rank, and then the exam is over and Mirajane is furious with herself for making it so far and losing by milliseconds.

Mirajane frowns at the guild celebration, scowling when the requip mages smirks smugly.

"It's okay, you'll get it next time for sure!" Lisanna chirps encouragingly.

"If you keep advancing too fast, you'll leave us behind." Elfman comments a little sadly.

She immediately snaps out of her funk, looking at her siblings. They've definitely gotten taller. Lisanna's still thin and scrawny, but Elfman's gotten bigger. He's taller than her now, and it never fails to amaze her how right it feels to be sitting between her two most important and favorite people in the world.

"_Never."_ She vows.

She'll get that title of S-rank, all right. There's no doubt. It's just a matter of when. But she'll _never_ leave her siblings behind.

Because if getting S-rank means having to leave them behind, she'll toss the exam.

It's not worth it.

* * *

**X781**

Mirajane becomes an S-class mage at the age of 16.

She beat Mystogan for the spot, and it was an interesting battle, to say the least of things. He tried to use a sleeping gas on her, but her Satan Soul form renders her impervious to such things. She knocks him out much too quickly to savor the moment, but a victory is still a victory.

Tonight, the guild is celebrating her victory, her advancement.

But she honestly doesn't care about any of that.

The only thing she cares about is seeing her siblings smiling and cheering and telling her how proud of her they are.

She's going to become stronger and better, so she can protect them better.

Her eyes sweep across the room and dark blue ones meet hers across the guild.

She scowls at him, and Laxus smirks, amusement on his face as he raises his tankard (probably beer, although he's 20-turning-21-soon and shouldn't even be drinking) towards her in a silent congratulations.

* * *

_**So they dug your grave and the masquerade will come calling out at the mess you made**_

**X782**

She doesn't know how a simple mission could turn so wrong.

She was looking forward to some family time, some private time where she could train with her siblings and they could bond together and just get away from everybody for a little while.

It was supposed to be a (simple) A-class mission.

Until the demon shows up and it turns this A-class mission into one that's somewhere between S-class and SS-class.

The demon is a nightmare. It's got the strength of an A-class, but when she manages to cut it in half, it regenerates and multiplies itself.

Mirajane manages to put up a pretty good fight, until Lisanna gets hurt from backlash and she gets thrown back while going to her sister's aid.

Elfman loses control of his Take Over state and goes to confront the demons.

Mirajane remembers Lisanna going to calm him down and her rushing to intervene between her siblings, and the demon takes advantage of the distraction to tackle her.

Everything else after that is blurry.

She manages to subdue the demon through its heart, but she loses consciousness, and the last thing she sees is her sister's smiling face.

When she wakes up, it's dark.

She knows she's severely injured, but when she sees Elfman, she knows he's worse off.

Lisanna's nowhere to be found.

"Lisanna? Lisanna!" She calls, but nothing. She can't sense her sister's distinct presence either, and she has to make a split second decision.

She has to bring Elfman back to the guild.

She closes her eyes and clenches her fists, angry at herself and angry at the demon and upset and frustrated and-

She finally releases her breath, most of the anger disappearing with it, and she summons her Satan Soul form and goes pick up Elfman.

"I'm so sorry, Lisanna."

She'll drop him off at the guild and come back.

_I promise._

* * *

Laxus is bored.

His team is debating between two missions right now, and since he's not rushed for anything, he lets them.

Then the doors to the guild _explode_ (they're hit so hard they actually disintegrate into sawdust) and the entire guild falls silent. Half the members automatically ready themselves in case this is an attack, and Laxus calls a couple bolts of lightning to his fingertips (because this should be fun if nothing else), and then-

Mirajane comes _flying_ through in her Satan Soul form, bleeding from several cuts that look severe, her body trembling from exhaustion. Her usually intimidating aura is fluctuating wildly in a protective manner, her wings are drooping (he didn't even know they could look that bad) and her eyes are _wild_. It doesn't look like she has any intentions of stopping either. She's supporting an unconscious Elfman, and the moment recognition flashes across her eyes when she realizes where she is, her eyes widen and panic and fear (he's never seen that look in her before, and panic and fear and Mirajane just don't fit together because she's supposed to be _fearless_) set in she cries, "L-Lisanna-!"

And then she falls forward like a marionette cut from its strings.

He reaches her first, _without_ his lightning speed, much to his own surprise. He catches both siblings in his arms, and Erza silently appears, taking Mirajane from him, concern in her face.

Makarov appears from the shadows, no doubt summoned by the sound of the exploding doors. His face is unusually grave and he doesn't even comment on the destruction Mira's caused. "I need teams to check the area their mission was in. And can someone please fetch Porlyusica?"

Laxus swears he heard her whisper, "I'm so sorry," in that broken voice before she passed out.

* * *

_**Don't wanna let you down, but I am hell bound, though this is all for you, don't wanna hide the truth**_

Mirajane sits against the bedhead, looking at the sheets.

She's going to be okay.

Elfman's going to be okay. He's unconscious right now, resting, but he'll be okay.

But Lisanna…

She tilts her head upward and turns her attention turns to the ceiling walls.

Fairy Tail sent out two search parties, each led by a S-class mage (Erza and Laxus) and each had a dragon slayer (Natsu and Laxus).

They didn't find her.

"I'm so sorry, Lisanna," She whispers, biting back the sobs threatening to spill over.

* * *

_**No matter what we breed we still are made of greed, this is my kingdom come, this is my kingdom come  
**__**When you feel my heat, look into my eyes, it's where my demons hide, it's where my demons hide  
**__**Don't get too close, it's dark inside, it's where my demons hide, it's where my demons hide**_

"I-I can't." Mirajane trembles, and tries again.

And again.

Eventually, she sinks to her knees in exhaustion, and the truth hits her like a ton of bricks.

She can't summon her Satan Soul form.

Elfman's finally awake, but he's taking it really hard. He refuses to see everyone except for her, and she doesn't really talk to anyone else anyways.

"I… I tried to summon Sitri, and I couldn't," She confesses, hugging her brother and burying her face in his shoulder.

"I don't think I can do it anymore either," He whispers back, and for the first time since they became members of Fairy Tail, he cries.

Mira feels the sadness and pain swell up inside her and she finds herself crying with him.

_I'm sorry, Lisanna. I'm sorry._

* * *

_**They say it's what you make, I say it's up to fate, it's woven in my soul, I need to let you go**_

After he leaves her with Porlyusica, he doesn't see her until a couple weeks later, and when he finally sees her, he can't help his stare.

She and Elfman walk through the (newly repaired) guild doors, silent and pale and waif-like, making their way to the bar and sitting down without making so much as a sound. They don't seem to realize the attention they've garnered. Actually, they don't look like they're really there either. They look like ghosts, if he were to describe them, drifting around aimlessly, unsure of what to do.

Laxus glances around the guild and sees that everyone else seems to feel the same way, unsure what to do, what to say, how to act or react.

Finally, Erza makes the first move. The requip mage cautiously makes her way to the two siblings and says softly, "It's good to see you up and about."

Elfman's eyes widen in panic underlying with shock, and there's this unsure and lost look in his eyes. "W-We shouldn't be-"

Mirajane places a hand on his arm and says firmly but gently, "It's okay, they're your friends," and Elfman just quiets down and doesn't say another word. Mira doesn't look much better – her eyes are lifeless and dull, void of her usually rash personality.

Laxus thinks that this scene is strangely reminiscent of how she was when she first came to Fairy Tail and always wore a cloak with the hood covering her head. How she's always looking out for her sibling(s) and how she never cared (cares) for herself. It's like she lives through them.

He's beginning to wonder how much longer this silence is going to last when Makarov makes his entrance and makes his way over to the remaining Strauss siblings. He looks solemn, which is a stark contrast to his usually sunny personality, but his voice is gentle as he reaches out and holds onto both Mirajane and Elfman. "It brings joy to this old man to see his children safe and back at home."

And then Mirajane does something that shocks the hell out of everyone present.

She bursts into tears, and not just any tears – they're heartbroken, soul wrenching sobs that he's pretty sure cuts into the soul of everyone in the guild. Laxus glances around the guild and sees pain shining in everyone's eyes, and even though some people shuffle about uncomfortably, they stand their ground, silently supporting their guild mates. All previous grievances with Mirajane or Elfman have been forgotten. Laxus sees this and thinks to himself that this is the kind of guild he wants to be a part of.

"I-I can't- I tried- not anymore-" Mirajane's not making any sense, and Elfman doesn't appear to be paying attention, so there's no help coming from that corner.

But Makarov seems to understand what Mira's saying, because he takes one of her hands and says firmly, "Mira, listen to me."

The youngest S-class mage shuts up, tears cut off in surprise. She closes her mouth and looks at the guild master.

Makarov's voice becomes gentle again once he has her attention. "Fairy Tail is your home, and we are your nakama. We are your family. Grieving is natural, and your guild mates are grieving with you. Your sister was precious to you and your brother, but she was also precious to us as well. And whether or not you can still use your magic doesn't determine your status within the guild. If you wish to stay in Fairy Tail, you are more than welcome to say. You still have your magic – it's just going to take a while to recover so you can use it again."

* * *

_**Your eyes, they shine so bright, I wanna save that light, I can't escape this now, unless you show me how**_

It takes a while – days turn into weeks which turn into months – before the Strauss siblings stop looking like ghosts drifting through the expanse of time. It's like there's a permanent off switch somewhere that takes the life away from their eyes. They stop taking missions. Elfman occasionally takes odd jobs around Magnolia, but aside from that he doesn't leave town. He stays close to his sister, watching her with an uneasy wariness as if he is afraid that one day she will disappear as well.

Mirajane becomes timid, loses that tough, intimidating exterior. (Laxus never bought her tough girl act – he always saw it for what it was – but he's astounded by how easy it is to read her now. Her face is like an open book. It's so strange and drastically different from Demon Mirajane.)

And then one day, Mirajane walks into the guild and he sees her and he stops and does a double take, and then a triple take. He quickly glances around the guild for affirmation of what he's seeing and notices various other guild members do the same.

She's wearing her hair down for once, and instead of wearing her regular gothic – dark – clothes and chains and accessories, she's wearing a simple sleeveless dress. She was pretty before, but now, everyone can see how beautiful she really is.

She bites her bottom lip a little nervously, pointedly ignoring the looks she's getting, and makes her way to the bar. She goes through the side doors and into the kitchen.

He finds out later that day that she's accepted the head waitressing position at the bar, and he doesn't quite know what to think of it.

She's too nice, too timid, too meek. Her voice isn't brash anymore, and all impulsive behaviors have been inhibited. She smiles this generic kind smile and greets people and asks how they are and she actually listens to them, and she's got this mom thing going on, and yeah it's nice and all, but he doesn't like it.

But he sees, throughout the next couple weeks, that slowly, she's coping. Slowly, she's healing. And Elfman seems to be doing better as well. The Beast Soul mage regained some use of his magic but not the full abilities, so he'll occasionally take missions that take a night, but no more.

At first, Elfman doesn't want to, because he doesn't want to leave Mira by herself, but he knows that he needs to train if he's to recover his abilities. So he appeals to Laxus, who tells him that he'll keep an eye on the female Strauss for him while he's gone.

He keeps his word. He hangs out at the bar and keeps an eye on Mira, occasionally scares off touchy-feely guys, and sometimes makes small talk with her.

Mira's freaking 17 (and yes she's beautiful, but that's besides the point), and he's 21.

But that doesn't stop the racing of his heart every time their eyes meet and she looks at him with this sense of curiosity, and he scowls into his drink so she doesn't see it.

Because for some reason, no matter how beautiful she is, he thinks back to that day in the forest, when she was struggling to control her Satan Soul: Sitri, and thinks she's the most beautiful when she's _herself_.

* * *

_**When you feel my heat, look into my eyes, it's where my demons hide, it's where my demons hide  
**__**Don't get too close, it's dark inside, it's where my demons hide, it's where my demons hide**_

**X783**

Her 18th birthday comes and she nearly forgets about it, except that Elfman comes up to her during her lunch break with a small package and presses it in her hands, hugging her gently (despite his large size and reputed strength) and greeting her softly, "Here sis, I picked it out for your birthday, like a man!"

She smiles softly and opens it. It's a pretty leather floral bracelet with all their names carved into the inside of the leather, and on the outside there's a pretty pattern of flowers with her birthstone on it. Hugging her brother, she murmurs. "Thanks, I love it."

But what she loves most is that lively smile that she's so familiar with, and the life slowly returning to his eyes.

* * *

That evening, Laxus returns from a successful mission. He sits at the bar and orders his usual. When Mira brings it to him, he reaches out to grab her wrist and gently pulls her towards him, leaning in to speak softly into her ear, "Happy birthday, kid."

Her eyes widen in shock, and she responds with a shy smile, "I didn't know 18 was still considered a child."

He grins and relents, "Okay then. Happy birthday, Mira."

She smiles softly. "Thank you."

He smirks. "Maybe I'll treat you to cake later."

"Only if it's coffee cake," She returns with a smile, and he sees a flash of a genuine smile hiding behind her generic kind one, and he feels warmth bursting from his chest. He wants to see her smile like that again.

She's 18 now, which he supposes isn't too bad. He's still got 4 years on her though, but she doesn't seem to mind, and he finds that he doesn't mind either.

* * *

**X784**

She and Elfman are standing at Lisanna's grave when suddenly, out of nowhere, her senses are alerted to a very familiar presence.

She and her brother look at each other, wide-eyed, but then they hear footsteps and turn-

"Lisanna!"

She cries and she's so happy, because finally her baby sister is back – Lisanna's _here in their arms_ – safe and sound.

Her world is whole again.

She cries tears of joy, and after reassuring herself that Lisanna is back, healthy and whole and in one piece (with all ten fingers and ten toes intact), she moves on to hug the rest of the Fairy Tail members witnessing this tender reunion – Wendy, Carla, Lucy, Happy, Natsu, Gray, Erza, Gajeel, Laxus. Everyone else had already gone back to the guild.

"_Thank you,"_ She whispers joyfully, hugging him fiercely, her tears soaking into his jacket.

This time, when Mira cries, her tears aren't the kind of heartbrokenness. Rather, they are filled with such joy that Laxus swears he can hear and see Mira and Elfman's broken hearts being stitched up. And maybe everyone else's too, including himself.

He gently returns her hug. "Anything to see you smile."

He means it.

* * *

**December 16, X784**

The Fairy Tail members look at each other. They know that there's no way of dodging this attack, but at least they have each other in the end.

As Acnologia comes roaring down on Tenrou Island, they reach out to hold hands with one another.

Mirajane grabs onto Elfman and Lisanna, and across from her she sees Laxus holding onto Makarov, and she sends him a small smile, filled with warmth and underlying affection.

He returns it.

Her last thoughts are of her siblings.

Amazingly though, at the last second a bright sphere encases them, and everything disappears.

When the light clears, they look up to the middle of the circle and find Mavis Vermillion, who explains to them what happened, and how she was able to use Fairy Sphere to save them because of their love for on another.

Mavis returns them back to Earthland seven years later, in **April of X791**, but it doesn't feel like seven years have passed seeing as there was no perception of time.

They only have a couple days to catch up on the events of the past 7 years – how the hell did Fairy Tail become the weakest guild in that short span of time?! – before they decide to compete in the Grand Magic Tournament to prove that Fairy Tail is the strongest guild in Fiore, because their strongest members are back and hell if they lose.

They decide to split up into separate groups to train (and for safety) and Laxus and the Raijinshu find themselves training in the same area as Mira and her siblings, and Lisanna (being Lisanna) suggests that they train together.

Laxus finds himself paired up with Mira because they're the only S-classed mages, and Mira's still figuring out how to use her magic to its fullest abilities.

She's still strong, so all he has to do is provide a challenge for her.

It takes her a week, but when she's finally able to consistently use Satan Soul and Sitri, they stop and take a break.

She steps forward and hugs him, smiling sweetly as she says, "Thank you, Laxus."

He grunts noncommittally but returns her hug, feeling his heart beat faster at their close proximity (and the fact that her head is tucked against his chest and his chin is resting on top of her head and his nose is half buried in her soft hair and he thinks to himself that they kinda fit together like two halves of a whole), and he can't quite resist the urge to duck his head and press a quick, chaste kiss to her forehead.

She blushes and looks at him oddly, but then she smiles, and he smiles back.

* * *

**July 6, X791 Grand Magic Games**

He remembers Natus, the freaking _idiot_, dropping out of the sky and telling them to go help Wendy and Mira against Zirconis (how the _hell_ does he know the dragon's name anyways?) because he's going to _eat_ the fire dragon's flames.

But he goes to help, because Natsu can handle himself, and Wendy and Mira probably could use some assistance. Not that they can't handle themselves, but a couple extra hands won't hurt.

When the dragon is within sight, he sees Wendy and Mira being thrown back from the dragon's attack, and without another thought he launches a thunderbolt at Zirconis. The rest of the Raijinshu throw in complementary attacks to strengthen the blow and to allow the two female mages to recover, and the dragon stops, momentarily distracted.

When Laxus finally reaches Wendy and Mira, he himself is momentarily distracted.

All he can think of is how freaking _beautiful_ she is, in full Satan Soul form, confident and in control and pissed off and ready to kick ass.

Oddly, he kinda just really wants to _kiss_ her right now.

Okay, maybe not now. But after the battle.

* * *

She's not quite sure how and when this happened.

She remembers helping Wendy fight against the dragon Zirconis, after Natsu yelled that there were seven dragons so seven dragon slayers were needed to defeat them. All the other mages present realize their role as backup and respond accordingly.

She and Wendy are having difficulties, and then thunder and various other attacks strike the dragon, signaling the arrival of Laxus and the Raijinshu. In as few words as possible, Laxus tells them that Natsu took their dragon and sent them for backup. (Which doesn't really surprise Mira, if she thinks about it. Leave it to the fire dragon slayer to decide to _eat_ the fire dragon's flames.)

Even with their new backup though, the six Fairy Tail mages have difficulty against the dragon, and that's with two dragon slayers on their side.

But once Natsu takes down a dragon (which destroys the summoning gate and part of the castle in the process), the dragons disappear, along with all their opponents.

Everyone pauses mid-battle, realizing their victory.

Amid the cheers, Mira finds herself laughing and hugging Wendy, then extending the hug to the Raijinshu.

She gets passed from member to member, each assuring her that her siblings are well out of harm's way, and before she knows it, she finds herself in front of a tired but grinning Laxus, who just looks relieved that she's okay.

He takes her in his arms, murmuring a gruff but quiet, "Is it my turn yet?" and as she looks as him with his crooked smile (the one he saves just for her), she wonders to herself that maybe everything will be all right after all.

She can't help but smile back and giggle softly, and then he leans in and kisses her, brushing his lips against hers gently, testing, before diving in for more.

She distantly hears clapping and cheering in the background, and she's not quite sure how she's gotten here, but maybe that's not the important part.

The important part is that she has arrived.

* * *

_**Fin.**_


End file.
